BOSTON, July 6, 2006--Berklee College of Music and City of Boston ParkARTS present an evening of jazz in Roxbury's historic Fort Hill neighborhood on Highland Park with Armsted Christian & Peaceful Flight and the Tuffus Zimbabwe Group on Sunday, August 6, starting at 5:00 p.m. The annual Jazz at the Fort concert is free and will be held weather permitting at Highland Park on Fort Avenue. Folding chairs and blankets are recommended. Roxbury Community College will provide parking on the corner of Columbus Avenue and Cedar Street. Jazz at the Fort is a short walk up Cedar Street to Fort Avenue. The event is also accessible from the Orange Line Roxbury Crossing T stop. For more information, please call 617-747-2447.
Berklee Associate Professor Armsted Christian is a performing and recording artist with fans throughout the U.S. and U.K. In addition to leading his band Peaceful Flight, the singer has performed with Patti Austin, Regina Carter, and Diana Ross, among many others. He has been nominated for four SESAC Songwriter Activity Awards in the Adult Contemporary/Contemporary Jazz Categories for songs that appear on albums by Will Downing and Walter Beasley. Christian's latest recording is called Here in the Night. Also, music that he wrote with Chieli Minucci of the GRAMMY-nominated contemporary jazz group Special EFX can be heard on the TV soap The Guiding Light.
The Tuffus Zimbabwe Group plays a fusion of jazz, classical, World, and gospel music created by the group's leader, 23-year old pianist and Roxbury resident Zimbabwe. The Berklee graduate cites influences such as Yellowjackets, Abdullah Ibrahim, Joe Sample, and Wayne Shorter. He makes regular appearances at Wally's Jazz Cafe, the Middle East, Hibernian Hall, and the Blue Wave with his group, and as a member of the jazz/hip-hop/ soul collaborative J4DA.
Now in its 10th year, ParkARTS began as Mayor Thomas M. Menino's initiative to present a yearlong program of arts and culture related programs and events in Boston's park system. ParkARTS, the Boston Parks and Recreation Department's multi faceted arts program, incorporates the visual, performing, and participatory arts. The 2006 ParkARTS performing arts program presents concerts at Boston neighborhood parks that range from jazz to symphonic music. Over 80 participatory arts programs will be offered including arts and crafts workshops and landscape watercolor painting classes.
Berklee College of Music was founded on the revolutionary principle that the best way to prepare students for careers in music was through the study and practice of contemporary music. For more than 60 years, the college has evolved constantly to reflect the state of the art of music and the music business. With over a dozen performance and nonperformance majors, a diverse and talented student body representing over 70 countries, and a music industry “who's who" of alumni, Berklee is the world's premier learning lab for the music of today--and tomorrow.
For more information contact All About Jazz.
